Theft, Murder, and Crystals Read online

  Theft, Murder, And Crystals

  Book One of the Glimmer Chronicles

  By Benjamin Duke

  Contents

  Chapter 1:

  Chapter 2:

  Chapter 3:

  Chapter 4:

  Chapter 5:

  Chapter 6:

  Chapter 7:

  Chapter 8:

  Chapter 9:

  Chapter 10:

  Chapter 11:

  Chapter 12:

  Chapter 13:

  Chapter 14:

  Chapter 15:

  Chapter 16:

  Chapter 17:

  Chapter 18:

  Chapter 19:

  Chapter 20:

  Chapter 21:

  Chapter 22:

  Chapter 23:

  Chapter 24:

  Chapter 25:

  Chapter 26:

  Chapter 27:

  Chapter 28:

  Chapter 29:

  Chapter 30:

  Chapter 31:

  Chapter 32:

  Chapter 33:

  Chapter 34:

  Chapter 35:

  Chapter 36:

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38:

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40:

  Chapter 41:

  Epilogue:

  Chapter 1:

  The bells rang, echoing throughout the opulent city of Glimmer. The glistening blue citadels that stretched high into the sky seemed less friendly today. Thousands had gathered around the Market District’s center, so that they could hear the words of the Cityspeaker. Normally, his voice would be amplified by a simple spell, allowing his words to sweep across the entire borough, but ironically, his announcement would explain why the people were straining to hear him.

  “In accordance with the Magistrate’s wishes, a peace treaty has been signed,” the man in blue and red robes shouted, waving his hands high. He repeated a few times as the crowd pushed together tightly. They weren’t used to hearing Ernifice without his booming voice. He continued, increasing the volume as best he could. “The Hordes of Kalimar have been appointed as our new rulers.”

  “The Magistrate can go hang themselves in the Beggar’s District!” shouted a naysayer. Dozens of voices echoed the sentiment and the crowd grew agitated at Ernifice’s words.

  “People, please, please, as is our law I must finish my decree,” he said, raising a single hand as if that would be good enough to control the crowd. A few of the city guard, men wearing polished plate mail and carrying long halberds, tentatively moved through the crowd, making their way to the front. Ernifice continued. “Glorious Kalimar himself, as with all of his subjects, has no desire to impose on our way of life. Our faiths, our professions and our livelihoods are all safe under his rule. Taxation shall not increase, and no additional burdens will be placed upon this city.”

  “Then what about that?” a man asked, pointing toward the sky. Dozens of people all pointed and shouted cries of derision. Hovering above the tallest spire, the Citadel of Prosperity, was a grey crystal. Slight pulses of yellow energy would periodically emit from the crystal, but it did little else. It merely floated above the city.

  “Ah yes,” Ernifice groaned as he pulled a scroll from his satchel. This was going to be the part that would start the mob violence. “As is the singular law of Kalimar, imposed on all nations under his subjugation without fail, magic shall no longer be practiced within the walls of this city, nor in the fields, nor in the woods, or any place where a citizen of Glimmer resides.”

  “That’s why my dishes weren’t washing themselves this morning!” screeched a hag in the front. She was an elderly crone, with a hunch back and a gnarled cane. She thrust the cane upwards, pointing it with accusation at the Cityspeaker. “You’ve done sold our souls to the devil! What’s this city without its magic? Who will bless the crops? Who will heal the sick?”

  “I have no answers,” Ernifice replied. He looked out at the crowd of people to see that their faces were dark with rage. The people of Glimmer were not the type to allow foreign powers to tell them what to do. The decision of the Magistrate was puzzling to everyone; Ernifice included. But the Magistrate set the laws and there was little anyone could do about it. “The city will purchase back all magical items at a reasonable rate. By sundown of next Circlas, all items must be out of the hands of civilians.”

  “You can have me magic sword when you kill me and my six brothers!” a man shouted.

  Others cried out, raising their own weapons up into the air. Ernifice sighed. “Your sword cannot use its magic while that crystal is up. The Luminous Artifact will destroy all magic. Any item still within this city will slowly drain until there is nothing left. The city will not purchase items devoid of their power.”

  Ernifice rolled up the scroll and took in a deep breath. He had six more districts to cover, each crowd would undoubtedly be more aggravated than the last. While the crowd here was angry, they were mostly the civilized folk who preferred to avoid the steep fines attached to fighting and rabble-rousing. The poorer districts would be too poor to pay the fine and thus more apt to break into violence. “The Magistrate thanks its citizens for their cooperation in this time of change. May the Sun always shine upon our faces and may our enemies…” he trailed off. The last part of the phrase made no sense now. There was little point in saying it.

  As the crowd broke into smaller groups, discussions began immediately. Some men talked about taking up arms and seizing control of the Magistrate, an idea so foolhardy that only the drunk and the idiotic were considering. Others spoke about leaving the city state as soon as possible. But amongst the crowd of deeply disappointed people, all angry about what the government and a foreign nation had stolen from them, one young man could not help but smile. It turned out that he was about to become very, very rich. Why? Because the crystals that he had in his pocket were made of the same material floating above his beloved city. And they happily ignored the magical ban. The best part? Samuel Goldenwine was perhaps the only man on the continent who knew how to make more of these crystals. And they would sell for a fortune to the right people, and they’d sell twice as much to the wrong ones.

  Chapter 2:

  Samuel walked through the busy and poorly named Golden District. Once a place of opulence of wealth; a wave of violence and failed political uprisings saw the Golden District eradicated of all the elite of Glimmer. That had been centuries ago, and now, the once beautiful mansions were just boarding houses for cruel slumlords who were looking to stuff as many bodies into a house and charge as much rent as possible.

  “Samuel!” cried a tall, pale man as he waved from the fountain where he had been filling a jug of water. “Over here!”

  Samuel smiled at his friend and waved back. Cimir was an immigrant, from the faraway lands of East Mion. He had arrived in the city a few years ago, with only a backpack, a short sword and a small bag full of slender grey crystals.

  “Cimir, good to see you,” Samuel said as he grabbed the jug from the man and hoisted it over his shoulder. “Where to?”

  “Aw, you don’t got to carry that,” Cimir replied with a sheepish grin.

  “Nonsense, we gotta save those hands for doing the important work,” Samuel said. He chuckled a little. “Speaking of which, did you get a chance to test them out?”

  “Extensively, just like you said. They aren’t affected a single bit. That Luminous Artifact won’t damper, weaken or destroy the ma-“ Samuel put a hand up to silence the man.

  “Easy, bud. Don’t use the m-word around all these itching ears.”

  “Then why’d you ask about it?”

  “You can talk about it without being overt, you know, use euphemisms,” Samuel repl
ied. Cimir merely stared blankly at him. He shrugged and continued speaking. “Now, where we heading?”

  “Down to see Jeni, then back to the workshop,” Cimir said. He pointed towards a series of towers in the distance.

  “The wizard? She’s probably long gone by now,” Samuel said, shaking his head. “The announcer said we wouldn’t lose our livelihoods but it’s not like she’s gonna be able to get a real job without her spellcasting abilities. She’s probably gone off to fight in some foreign war.”

  Cimir frowned and stared at the towers. They were slowly vanishing from sight, using the last bit of magic they had to move to new locations. No spellcaster in their sane mind would elect to stay in a city where magic was now illegal.

  “I’d still like to check on her, see if there’s anything she needs,” Cimir said. Samuel shook his head and pointed at one of the towers, a bright red one, that was melting into the ground.

  “See?” Samuel said as he waved his hand. “She’s getting the hell out of here.”

  “I wanted to borrow some books from her,” Cimir groaned as his head sank downwards. “She was friendly enough to me.”

  “Yeah, you could have borrowed a book, but how would you have returned it? She’s gone for good. All the wizards are," Samuel replied as he patted Cimir on the back. “Come on, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  Cimir said little else and instead turned around and headed towards the workshop. This was yet another short-sighted scheme by his best friend, Samuel. Then again, getting rich quick was all the young man cared about. In the four years Cimir had known him, he never once recalled Samuel attempting an honest day’s work. Still, Cimir owed his friend a lot for helping him acclimate to human society, especially when he had arrived in Glimmer, barely able to communicate with regular people.

  Cimir was not a wanderer, nor a vagabond. He was a chosen member of a race of snake creatures known as the Serpentines. As was their custom, their head priest had slipped into his bedroom when he was only an infant of a few months old and had stolen him away from his parents, taking Cimir deep into the far realm of East Mion, a land far beneath the earth. It was there that Cimir was given his name and taught the old ways of magic, sorcery, a spellcasting form that had been long rejected and forgotten by human society.

  To Cimir, growing up amongst the Snake People was nothing special. They taught him to speak, they educated him and trained him in their ways. He was an Elect, a chosen one who was prophesied about by the High Priests and their strange snake god, Ssskraa. He wasn’t the only the human who was an elect, of course. Elf children, with ice in their veins, were common, as were troll-kind and the vicious, many-mouthed Regas. The Serpentines stole children from all races and taught them their ways and their magic. Then on a random day after they reached adulthood, the elect were sent out to live amongst their original cultures. The prophecy demanded such.

  Cimir had been given no instruction when sent out. He was merely told to never return unless summoned by the High Priest and that he should live his life as he sees fit. He was given no mission, no purpose. All he had was a satchel full of crystals and an immense knowledge of magic. Did he have some kind of destiny? He didn’t know. He certainly didn’t want to have one, if he was to be honest. While he excelled at magic, he most enjoyed the solitary nature of the practices. Studying in the darkness of the underground temples, his enchanted eyes gazing upon the many books in utter silence was ideal. He rarely had to interact with his peers. Food and drink were brought to him by invisible servants and outside of the weekly lecture provided by High Priest Ssisraaar, he didn’t have to interact with anyone. And he was fine with that.

  Returning to human society was less than pleasant. Humans were busy, rude and overly chatty. While Serpentines were capable of making long journeys without saying a single word, a human would speak more words than Cimir had ever heard in a single conversation about the weather. The city of Glimmer had been the first human city he had stumbled across and the size of it was overwhelming. The sheer number of humans had been too much for him to bear, but where else would he go? With only a few pieces of gold in his pocket and barely a command of the human language, he struggled to find a place for himself. He had resigned himself to homelessness until Samuel found him.

  Samuel Goldenwine, a last name that was undoubtedly made up, was cheerful, glib and above all, generous. He had little but the little that he had, Samuel gladly shared with Cimir. There was little explanation for why Samuel had approached him and asked if he had a place to stay for the night. Perhaps it had been the approach of a harsh winter storm, or perhaps Samuel was just looking for someone to rob. Cimir would never know. All he knew was that Samuel happily took him in to the abandoned warehouse that he was sleeping in and from then on, they were inseparable friends.

  A creaking sound snapped Cimir out of his memories. He glanced up and realized that they had made their way to the entrance to the workshop. They were in a dead end alley of the Golden District, an unassuming part of the town, with only a few crates and a rusty shovel waiting for them. Samuel was running his hands against the cobblestone wall, the crate he was standing atop creaking as he shifted his weight.

  “The stone is somewhere here…” Samuel mumbled. Finally, his hands found a small stone jutting out of the wall. He pressed it in and the secret door began to grind as it opened up. They had found this secret hideout a few months ago. The belief was that it had belonged to an anti-Magistrate rebellion a few thousand years ago, during Glimmer’s one and only civil war. Cimir and Samuel had spent the last few months turning it into a workshop so that Cimir would be able to work in solitude and safety.

  “Ahhhh, it’s all coming together. What did I tell you?” Samuel asked as they entered the sparse room. There were a few wooden chairs, some crates containing crystals and a complex forge set up by the fireplace. The forge wasn’t like that of a blacksmith’s, rather it had several rods, meant to hold crystals with the fire directly beneath them. The flames were important for creating these crystals, for heat would make them receptive to magic. A symbol of warding had been carved into the ground, with the eight symbols of magic forming a perfect circle around the center of the workspace. These symbols, sapped of their magic now, were symbolic of the art of sorcery.

  “Looks good to me,” Cimir said. “Although I would figure there would be…more.”

  “More what?” Samuel asked.

  “More…stuff? I don’t know. If you expect me to be working in here, I was hoping for at least a few bookshelves. And books. For my downtime,” Cimir replied. The windowless room reminded him of working in the great underground.

  “Books? What do I look like, a baron? If we sell these spells, we can buy all the books we want!” Samuel replied as he pulled the lever that closed the secret door, sealing them into the room. The only light came from the fireplace, where the flames from the logs danced.

  “I don’t know if this is going to work,” Cimir said as he sat down. “You really think people will want to buy these things?” He pointed to a few crystals that were sitting on the table.

  “Six months ago, I got word that the Hordes were looking at Glimmer, remember?” Samuel said as he plopped down on another chair and kicked his feet up on the table. “Do you remember me telling you all about that?”

  Cimir said nothing but nodded.

  “And I was right! My guy in the Magistrate’s building told me they were planning to just surrender rather than risk a full on invasion, you remember that too?”

  Cimir nodded again.

  Samuel grinned. “We put all of our money into these crystals for a reason my friend. Sure, they weren’t cheap, but I guarantee you we’re going to sell them for ten times their regular price. The people of Glimmer love their freedom above all else. This city was founded on one simple principle: Freedom for all and if you don’t like it, go to hell.”

  “Then why did the Magistrate bow so quickly to the Hordes?” Cimir asked. “Wouldn’t we fight back,
tooth and nail?”

  “I don’t know, man. I have no idea why the government saw fit to bow down and kiss the Kalimar’s rings. But they did. And the people haaaate it. I mean, even the rich bastards were genuinely considering rioting. Why? Not because of the inevitable increase in taxation or even the fact that we’re the vassals of some random nation from far away.”

  “They banned magic,” Cimir said, glancing at a crystal.

  “That’s right. We don’t want to be told what to do. These jackasses just banned magic, but guess what? No one likes it. And we’re the only people in the city who know how to keep the magic flowing.”

  Cimir slowly nodded. “But what if we get in trouble? What if we get caught?”

  “You make a few crystals of invisibility. We’ll never get caught,” Samuel said with a chuckle. “Besides, after a few clever sales, we’ll have enough to bribe the guards. You think they care? If you hand a man a year’s salary for looking the other way, you really think he’s gonna do the right thing? And that’s even if the guard believes arresting some entrepreneurs is really the right thing anyway.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Trust me. We’ve got a hundred of these things, right? If we sell all of them for at least 10 gold a piece, we’re looking at a thousand gold. That’s enough to live a good life,” Samuel reassured Cimir. “That covers food, board and expenses for a long, long time.”